06/07/2022
NEWS STORY
Lando Norris: "I'm really excited to be back in Spielberg for the Austrian Grand Prix.
"It's a Sprint and it's one of my favourites on the calendar so it's shaping up to be a nice weekend. Whilst we may not necessarily be fighting for podiums like in the last two years, there is definitely an opportunity for some good points and to have some fun battles.
"It was great to see so many people in papaya this past weekend and I'm buzzing to see all the orange in the crowd this weekend clearly there supporting McLaren... There's always a great atmosphere and I'm hoping to build on my solid performance at Silverstone. We do still have a lot of work to do but we keep pushing forward and we keep fighting."
Daniel Ricciardo: "The Austrian Grand Prix is always a fun one. It's a great track in a beautiful location and it's always an exciting race. The past few Sprint races have proven anything is possible so I'm ready to pounce on any opportunities that come my way, as well as creating a few of my own.
"Whilst the fans were sensational, the British Grand Prix result wasn't what I wanted it to be, and we've got some work to do before this weekend. We're putting in the hours to figure out why we lacked pace and are doing everything we can to get further up the grid in the second half of this season. Hopefully we will make some improvements this weekend and move forward. Let's keep our heads high and keep going."
Piers Thynne, Executive Director, Operations: "We've hit the halfway point in the 2022 season and the team is working harder than ever. Working within the cost cap forces teams to work efficiently, and with three grands prix and a tyre test to go before the summer break, everyone both at MTC and at track is working hard to give us the best possible chance to score good points over the coming races, particularly with opportunities that may present themselves within the sprint format in Spielberg.
"There are many elements at play at the Red Bull Ring that we take into consideration when preparing the cars and all parts for the weekend. There are high levels of attrition possible with the harsh curbs which can easily damage components so we have to ensure we have enough spare parts available for all key areas of the car. This is particularly important from a production perspective when taking into consideration the increased risk of damage that comes with the sprint format and it being the second half of a double header, but something we work into our long term plans when preparing for the season so the team are ready to go.
"The track itself has lots of great features, from the changing gradient and the uphill right-handers to the three fast straights, it will be interesting to see how the new iteration of cars handle at the circuit."
Red Bull Ring
Race laps: 71
Circuit length: 4.318 km/2.722 miles
Total race distance: 306.452 km/190.420 miles
Number of corners: 10 (7 right, 3 left)
Allocated tyre compounds: Hard: C3, Medium: C4 and Soft: C5